WorldcrunchBBC, RUSSIA TODAY, AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch ST. PETERSBURG — The G20 world leaders failed to find common ground Thursday on the U.S. push for military intervention in Syria in the wake of the chemical attack there. The Syrian conflict was the main topic of the summit’s first day, as President Barack Obama tried to […]
AL AKHBAR (Egypt), BBC, REUTERS Worldcrunch CAIRO — Conflicting reports from Egypt are casting doubt over the future of the Muslim Brotherhood as a non-governmental organization. Al-Akhbar, a state-run newspaper, reported Friday that the minister of social solidarity has decided to dissolve the Brotherhood, though it had yet to be announced. “The minister’s decision has […]
A quarter of the two million Syrians fleeing their country have wound up in Jordan, where there is overcrowding and difficulty obtaining work permits. Refugees are rooting for strikes asap.
BBC, AFP Worldcrunch THE HAGUE – The Dutch state has been held responsible by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslim men killed in the infamous 1995 massacre in Srebrenica. The men had been ordered to leave a UN compound run by Dutch peacekeeping forces when Bosnian Serb forces […]
Will Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff call off a state visit to Washington?
Exhibitions in Matisse’s favorite French town provide new and informative contexts for the artist’s work. Given his fame, that’s no small feat.
–Editorial– SANTIAGO — The fallout from the failed 2012 population census in Chile is huge, even though the country has yet to grasp its full impact. A recent report from an investigating committee advises that the results shouldn’t be used for official figures, and recommends that the census be repeated correctly in 2015. Though the […]
There’s just one place the European Central Bank’s gender requirements won’t apply…
POSSIBLE UKRAINE CEASEFIREAll eyes are on Minsk where Ukrainian, Russian and OSCE envoys have begun another round of talks that could lead to an imminent ceasefire in eastern Ukraine after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s said at the NATO summit yesterday that he would agree to a truce. Rebel leaders also said they would stop the […]
AFP, CHINA DAILY, THE ECONOMIC TIMES (India) Worldcrunch SHANGHAI — In a bold push to reform the world’s second-largest economy and open it to cross-border business, China will allow unfettered exchange of its RMB currency in the country’s first free trade zone, according to a draft plan AFP previewed Thursday. The Free Trade Zone is […]
RIA NOVOSTI (Russia), REUTERS, RUSSIA TODAY, AFP, BBC Worldcrunch ST. PETERSBURG — The leaders of the world’s 20 most powerful economies arrived Thursday in Russia for the annual G20 summit. The two-day meeting was initially supposed to focus on the economic slowdown in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as well […]
REUTERS, AHRAMONLINE (EGYPT) Worldcrunch CAIRO – A car bomb attack that appeared to target Egypt’s interior minister Thursday left at least two people dead, officials told the Egyptian website Ahramonline. Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim survived the attack, in which police killed two of the assailants, according to Reuters, quoting security officials. At least 10 people […]
RAMALLAH — In this Palestinian city in the central West Bank, some 300 technology companies employ at least 4,500 people. Despite enormous potential, the industry is still nascent and suffers from a lack of development centers and productive ties with the outside world. Most of the companies in this Palestinian Silicon Valley are still small […]
The Syrian crisis will dominate the G20 summit in St Petersburg. While the U.S. readies a lonely military strike, Russia’s President presents himself as protector of international law.
A psychological portrait of Gilles Bernheim, France’s former Chief Rabbi, disgraced last spring in a scandal of plagiarism, a bogus philosophy degree and deep human denial.
The most populous country in the world has no clear method for reporting or responding to abuse of its most vulnerable. Child welfare organizations fight to make a change.
REUTERS, ABC, WALL STREET JOURNAL Worldcrunch TOKYO — Radiation readings near tanks holding toxic waters at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant have jumped to a new high, according to Japan’s nuclear regulator, as the government prepares to step in to help contain leaks. According to Reuters, this new rise in the radiation levels and […]
Thursday, September 4, 2014 UKRAINE TOPS NATO SUMMIT AGENDA Western and NATO leaders are meeting in Newport, Wales, for what the military alliance’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen described as “one of the most important summits in the history of our alliance” because of Russia’s incursion in Ukraine. Calling on Moscow to “stop the flow […]
Universal health care in Cuba has led to one of the lowest infant morality rates in the world. But as doctors flee to work abroad, the ones remaining complain of difficult working conditions.
AP, NEW YORK TIMES, BBC Worldcrunch MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin says he doesn’t rule out his country’s participation in a military operation in Syria if evidence showing that Damascus carried out chemical attacks is “convincing”. He added that the operation must be conducted with U.N. approval. In a rare interview with the Associated […]
REUTERS, AP, BBC Worldcrunch CLEVELAND — Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping, rape and beatings of three Cleveland women he held captive in his house for nearly 10 years, was found hanged in his prison cell late Tuesday evening, Reuters reports. According to a prison official quoted by […]
BERLIN — BMW plans to introduce its electric i3 car this year, which raises the question of what’s going to happen to the old batteries that, for the purpose of powering electric cars, must be discarded well before they have actually been depleted. It’s a riddle the car company is hoping to solve together with […]
MUNICH – When Johannes Langner (not his real name) heard about the grade, he wished he’d never written the paper. He found the outstanding mark, virtually the highest available in the German grading system, almost embarassing — after all, he’d never in his life set foot in a philosophy seminar. He’d been hoping for something […]
LONDON — This is the fourth month that Shen has promptly received the 2,600 pounds ($4,050) from his tenants. The newfound landlord bought a London flat in January, having calculated that even if he doesn’t raise the rent, he’ll be still able to pay off the down payment in just five years. Shen is but […]
President Hollande has the power to strike militarily without parliamentary consent. But democratic and political necessities require it.
Kim Pasche set off from Switzerland to follow in the footsteps of indigenous people. That led him to the wild forests of Canada, where he spends eight months a year living as a hunter-gatherer.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014 SECOND ISIS BEHEADING VIDEO CONFIRMED The U.S. Intelligence Community has authenticated the video published yesterday by ISIS which purported to show the beheading of another journalist, Steven Sotloff of dual American-Israeli citizenship, two weeks after similar footage of James Foley was released, The New York Times reports. Speaking from Estonia where […]
AHRAMONLINE (Egypt), AFP, THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch CAIRO — After being accused of “inciting hatred” against Coptic Christians and “undermining national unity,” the Islamist Al-Hafez TV channel was ordered by a Cairo administrative court to be closed permanently, according to the Egyptian Ahramonline news website. The station, which was among several to be taken temporarily […]
THE NEW YORK TIMES, BBC, REUTERS Worldcrunch SEATTLE — Microsoft has announced plans to purchase Nokia’s mobile phone business for $7.2 billion, a move by Microsoft to catch up to competitors Samsung and Apple on the mobile business. Nokia shares jumped by 45% on news of the deal. According to the BBC, the purchase is […]
LE FIGARO (France) Worldcrunch DAMASCUS — Bashar al-Assad warned France not to launch a military strike, which the Syrian president said would support terrorism against the interests of the Syrian people. In an exclusive interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Assad said that should Paris take part in a military intervention, “there will be repercussions, […]
HAIFA – His pack is ready: spare clothing, two clean uniforms, his combat boots and a charger for his smartphone. If he is called, Haim Halévy, a 32-year-old from Haifa, will only have a few hours to join his field regiment stationed on the Golan Heights. The fateful phone call may arrive today, tomorrow, in […]
MOSCOW — The city of Moscow is covered with graffiti, and proudly so. Members of the “Best City On Earth” project have said they will paint street art on 150 buildings by September. Meanwhile, there is graffiti at the Faces & Laces urban culture festival in Gorky Park, as well as an exhibition of a […]
French President Hollande has been in step with U.S. calls to strike Syria. Now with Obama’s request for a Congressional vote, France is left flapping in the wind.
Long flight delays have a price, but the airline industry is applying serious downward pressure on European regulators.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014 RUSSIA TO REVIEW MILITARY DOCTRINE AGAINST NATO Moscow will review its military doctrine in the face of NATO expansion to countries that border Russia. Mikhail Popov, a Russian National Security Council official, said the military alliance was “one of the external military threats,” RT reports. This comes after the announcement yesterday […]
CNN (U.S.), REUTERS Worldcrunch HAVANA — At the remarkable age of 64, American long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad reached the shores of Key West on Monday afternoon, becoming the first person to swim from Cuba across the Florida Straits without a shark cage. Congratulations to @DianaNyad. Never give up on your dreams. — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) […]
BBC, AFP Worldcrunch CAIRO — Ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is to stand criminal trial for “incitement to murder,” though no trial date has been set, according to Egyptian state television and the AFP. The charges are related to the deadly clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012, when at least seven people were […]
GUARDIAN (UK), LE MONDE (France), AFP, ARUTZ SHEVA, JERUSALEM POST (Israel), RUSSIA TODAY, REUTERS Worldcrunch WASHINGTON — The Syrian crisis shifts in a new direction this week after President Barack Obama’s announcement that he will seek Congressional approval for any U.S. intervention. Following that news, Secretary of State John Kerry clarified that Obama had the […]
TEL AVIV — While we talk about a certain economic stability in Ramallah, the economy in Gaza is in free fall, which is due in no small measure to the massive closing of the tunnels used to smuggle in products across the border from Egypt. The Palestinian economy, at least in the West Bank, is […]
Monday, September 1, 2014 UKRAINE FORCES LOSE AIRPORT AHEAD OF TALKS Ukrainian government forces pulled out of the international airport in Luhansk after an assault by pro-Russian rebels, even as Ukrainian and Russian officials are preparing to meet in Minsk for another round of talks, the BBC reports. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he […]